Multimedia projection devices have become popular for purposes such as conducting sales demonstrations, business meetings, classroom training, and various other applications. Due to their popularity, projection devices may be placed in many different locations so that different audiences may view various multimedia presentations without having to wait for availability of a projection device. Moreover, by placing projection devices in different locations, a particular audience may avoid the inconvenience of moving locations to congregate in a viewing area to watch a presentation. As an example, a projection device may be placed in every classroom in a school so that each class may have a projection device to use for multimedia presentations and the like.
Furthermore, a projection device may require setup for operation and maintenance to sustain operation. For example, setup of a projection device may include initializing a projection device for a multimedia presentation. The initialization process may include turning the projection device on and setting the video input to a specific source. An example of maintenance may include determining the number of hours a projection lamp has been used in order to estimate the date when it will need to be replaced. When dealing with a plurality of projection devices in different locations, it may be cumbersome to go the physical location of each projection device to check the status of each projection device as well as perform setup and maintenance tasks.
What is needed is a way to control a projection device and view the status of a projection device over a pre-existing network. This may enable convenient monitoring and control of a plurality of projection devices from a single location that is not required to be in proximity to the projection devices.